As a disclaimer: Sharing needles with someone is one of the easiest ways to contract bloodborne pathogens [read: sharing needles is bad]. In no way is sharing a needle of any sort safe, and it was very wrong and stupid of me to do so. I used unsafe and not very sterile (or clean) techniques to pierce myself. I should have and could have bought a clean needle for very little, but I chose not to. That choice is one I URGE any reader NOT to make. Not only is it stupid, it's very dangerous and could get you HIV/AIDS (which isn't fun, people die from it) and a half million other nasties. Upon reflection, I realized that I could have gotten one of those nasties. Nasties are bad. Although I'm very happy with my piercing, I do realize that I should have done this professionally, or at least with an unused, sterile needle, gloves, a CLAMP (not clothespins!) and really should have used new jewelry as well. DIY piercings are not safe and not sterile -- piercing should be left to professionals. But, the deed is done, and there haven't been any real complications with it, though I could have had MANY bad problems. Here's my story.
At A Glance Author Char Contact Char@bme.anon When Five years ago
I came home from closing McDonald's one night, it was a Friday. I had just turned sixteen a couple days before, and I had wanted a Christina so bad for the past couple years. I knew I couldn't ask my parents to let me go get a genital piercing; they didn't want me to get anything but my lobes pierced. Ever.
I had a friend who loved to pierce everything and anything on his body in high school. I asked him if I could have a 14g needle when he was done with it; this is NOT safe. I did a bad thing by doing that. I did not take into account that I could have gotten HIV, Hepatitis or some other bloodborne pathogen from sharing a needle with my friend. Again. Do NOT do this.
I didn't know anything about actually piercing a body part. I thought - hey, a 14g needle should go fine with a 14g CBR, but I later found out that it didn't. (The needle should be one step larger than the ring/barbell/whatever - 14g needle=16g ring.)
As soon as I came home, I quietly went upstairs to get my needle, my jewelry, and candles. I went back downstairs to the bathroom to do the deed.
I sat in the bathroom, almost cross legged on the floor. I had the needle in my hand, and I made a good guess as to where I should pierce. Poked. Pushed. Poked. Pushed harder. It wouldn't go through. I went through almost all the way and the membrane on the inside on my vagina was much more sensitive than I thought it could be. I asked the Goddess to help me and the God to help. I took the needle out. I botched my first try. I still have a scar above the piercing. If I wanted to do this, I should do this right. A bit of blood started to seep from the hole and I wiped it off with some toilet paper.
I took a deep breath. I breathed on the candles (two blue for calm, one green for healing) and they flickered. I re-decided where I should pierce, a little lower than what I had tried before, and I pressed the needle against my skin. I started getting a little scared - I had just done this once before and it was a little less than pleasant. But, I started this job and I had to finish. I started to push the needle. It was dull from being used more than it should have. Piercing needles are one-use-only.
I pushed harder. I chanted, "Pain is nothing, I can do this." Over and over again I chanted. I heard a rip. What an incredible sound. Flesh ripping because of my own actions. The first bit of the piercing was through. A speck of blood. Nothing much. I pushed harder, again, and I heard another rip. Almost there. No more blood. I didn't need to worry about that anyway, I have plenty of blood in me.
I pushed even harder. Wiggled it a bit. Sliced through another bit of my skin. The tip of the needle was showing through the other side. It was hurting to the point of me turning extremely red and almost with tears in my eyes. I told myself that I'd gone too far not to finish it this time.
My breathing was in short bursts as I pushed the rest of the needle through. I didn't know how to get my CBR in there. Well, I tried following it with the 14g, but it kept falling off the needle. I had read in some piercing books that the jewelry is supposed to fit inside the needle so it can be slid right on through. I took one of my 16g earrings out and cleaned it with antibiotic hand soap and I stuck the 16 in the top of the needle. I pushed. The 16 followed the needle. I got it about halfway and I lost the needle-CBR connection. I took out the needle, I couldn't find the hole, after trying. Then the CBR slipped right through. That absolutely amazed me, how easily the jewelry slipped through without the needle. It didn't hurt too much, and it barely bled. It was just pain constantly when trying to get the needle through, and since it's used, it's probably not as sharp as it should be.
I was so amazed that I finished a piercing. It was my secret prettiness - I did the piercing purely for aesthetic purposes anyway.
After the initial pierce, I didn't exactly follow good healing instructions. I kept Neosporin on it for a few weeks, I didn't have much bleeding, just a lot of discharge. Had to wear a pantiliner for practically a year. I stopped with the Neosporin after reading the label and realizing that it was a "puncture wound" and you're not supposed to use petroleum products on puncture wounds.
About three months into the piercing, I thought it was infected, it was giving a lot of white discharge and I showed it to a friend (who is practically an expert in infections and scarring and the like) and she said it didn't look like one. I started soaking the piercing in salt water, and it started healing good.
It readily became part of my life; I no longer have any discharge and I've stretched it to a 10g. I've worn CBRs and horseshoes in it. It doesn't interfere with sex or anything, unless I've got some sort of spiky jewelry in.
Just to note, I'm a regular blood donor, and I have been separately tested for HIV. Though my experience was positive, any number of things could have gone wrong. This choice to use a dirty needle could have killed me. I've had it for four years now, today, and it's doing well.